Seattle Mariners 2021 Grades: Part 3 – Catchers

  |  
Oct 19, 2021
Seattle Mariners
Tom Murphy, Seattle Mariners. (Photo by Dinur via Flickr)

Now that the Seattle Mariners 2021 season is over, it’s time to evaluate the team. In Part 3, we grade the catchers.

This is Part 3 of our 2021 Seattle Mariners grades, focusing on the catchers. Click here for Part 1 about the infield or here for Part 2 about the outfield.

In this series, we used several factors to evaluate the Seattle Mariners’ position players. They are offensive production, defensive production, and intangibles. The intangibles are a subjective list of items, including clubhouse presence, leadership, clutch factors.

Catchers

Jose Godoy (14 games), Tom Murphy (88 games), Cal Raleigh (43 games), Luis Torrens (35 games)

Featuring: Tom Murphy

Offense: C-

Initially, I had this marked as an F as Murphy was just so bad compared to his 2019 output. Upon review of his end-of-the-year totals and compared to Luis Torrens, I had to change this grade. Finishing the year with a 0.9 WAR.

Defense: B

While his bat was lagging this year, his defense was its usual self. Finishing the year with a .990 fielding percentage, the third-highest of his career. Murphy is a prototypical current-day Major League catcher; glove first and little with the bat.

Intangibles: D

Murphy was not very good in the clutch. Finishing with a -0.56 in clutch rating on the year. His veteran leadership helped with the continued development of Raleigh, Torrens, and Logan Gilbert. Murphy was Gilbert’s battery mate for many of his starts.

Featuring: Luis Torrens

Offense: C-

Luis Torrens shows more long-term promise than Murphy. He needs further development to be anything more than just a big league backup catcher. However, the raw tools are there. Manager Scott Servais used Torrens as his designated hitter often in the second half of the season.

Defense: B

Torrens played well behind the plate. In fact, it was one of his better years. He even showed off his position flexibility playing some games at both first and third base.

Intangibles: B-

Unlike Murphy, Torrens shows up when the Mariners need him. The 27-year-old finished with a 1.28 rating in clutch situations this year. As previously mentioned, Torrens also offers up some position flexibility beyond DH. If he and Raleigh continue their development trajectory the Seattle Mariners are in a good position behind the plate.

Some might ask why Raleigh was left out of this grading exercise. The truth of the matter is there is a real possibility he starts the year in the minors again. The current service time rule expires on December 1, when the CBA does.

What the new service time rule will be is anyone’s guess. If it’s something like the current one, the Seattle Mariners will be wise to bring back or in a veteran like Murphy. Raleigh will also need to have a very strong offseason and spring training to start the year with the M’s.

Related Story: Seattle Mariners 2021 infield grades

Related Story: Seattle Mariners 2021 outfield grades

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8hgD8qYL7U

What grades would you give the Seattle Mariners outfielders? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.

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